PASTEL
LIKE THE OIL AND WAX CRAYONS,
IS SOMETIMES THOUGHT OF AS PRIMARILY A DRAWING MEDIUM
BECAUSE THE MATERIAL IS APPLIED DRY.
SINCE IT USES COLOR, HOWEVER, IT IS JUST AS WELL TO THINK OF
IT AS A PAINTING MEDIUM.
PASTEL IS, IN FACT, THE PUREST OF THE PAINTING TECHNIQUES :
THE STICKS OF COLOR ARE COMPOSED MOSTLY OF PIGMENT,
WITH VERY LITTLE VEHICLE ADDED.
ALTHOUGH CHALKS DUG FROM THE GROUND AND MIXTURES
OF COLORED CLAYS WITH WEAK BINDERS HAVE BEEN USED SINCE
PREHISTORIC TIMES, THE DEVELOPMENT OF TRUE PASTEL AS A
SEPARATE AND DISTINCT PAINTING MEDIUM DATES ONLY FROM
AROUND THE BEGINNING OF THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY.
RED, WHITE AND BLACK CHALKS WERE USED AS ACCENT HUES IN
RENAISSANCE DRAWINGS, AND THERE ARE SOME WORKS IN FULL COLOR
DRAWINGS FROM THE EARLY SEVENTEENTH CENTURY, BUT THE
TECHNIQUE WAS NOT FULLY REALIZED UNTIL ABOUT
A HUNDRED YEARS LATER.
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